Jackhammers and Supermodels

I listen to podcasts to drown out the relentless jackhammers that infuse NYC with painful reminders of impermanence, disrepair, and probably incompetence. When they pause for lunch it's likely that the leaf blowers will rise up, as if conducted by a villainous maestro determined to bore holes through my brain. 

Not that I concentrated enough to really take it in but Kara Swisher very supportively interrogated Emily Ratajkowski, a super model and instagram 'influencer' on the matter of profiting from the male gaze. She's written a book. She wants to be taken seriously. And she defends the right of women who use their beauty to make money. 

Here's the point I've heard from many youngers (sorry, I cannot keep those generation names straight, kids in their 20s, ok?). It's not the individual's responsibility we should be focussing on; it's the structure. 

Yes! I've made that point myself. Recycling plastic bags has practically zero impact compared to how the fossil fuel industry squeezes the balls of our obedient congressmen (gender knowingly identified). 

But here's the problem. Thinking that thought can separate you from the felt sense of the continual interaction of things--the tiny rippling impact of voting, of buying less soiled products from less soiled companies, of taking the train instead of driving, of, yes, even recycling. 

Does Elle Fanning have responsibility for the beautification of the fascinating and somewhat homely Catherine the Great? Gosh, no, she has to make a living. So does Emily Ratajkowski. Forgive my bitterness leaking through, I might have liked to have an acting career but I was not able to kick down those doors that are wide open for beautiful women, at least until they turn thirty when they have to start freezing their faces in a desperate attempt to hold onto power. 

We ALL influence the direction of things. Show me wrinkles. Show me your cloth bag, your electric car, your train pass, your shopping or no-shopping choices. Show me your activism. Show it and do it for not showing it, but just because if you really settle down and take in reality you will feel the breeze from your own butterfly wings.

November 29, 2021

Update on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 3:21PM by Elena Taurke

Here's a far better critique of the beautification of Catherine the Great:

Catherine Was Great. But Was She a Girl Boss?